Attention all Knifemakers!.....Product dealers/retailers and/or knife makers/sharpeners/hobbyists (etc) are not permitted to insert business related text/videos/images (company/company name/product references) and/or links into your signature line, your homepage url (within the homepage profile box), within any posts, within your avatar, nor anywhere else on this site. Market research (such as asking questions regarding or referring to products/services that you make/offer for sale or posting pictures of finished projects) is prohibited. These features are reserved for supporting vendors and hobbyists.....Also, there is no need to announce to the community that you are a knifemaker unless you're trying to sell something so please refrain from sharing.
Thanks for your co-operation!

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums by donating using the link above or becoming a Supporting Member.

Horse bone ham tester

Traditionally a thin horse bone is used to poke curing hams in certain area to be sniffed and ascertained whether that ham is going in the right direction or is spoiling. Does anyone know a place where one can purchase said horse bone? I've checked sausage/ham forums and they all talk about it but no one seems to know where to get one.

Traditionally a thin horse bone is used to poke curing hams in certain area to be sniffed and ascertained whether that ham is going in the right direction or is spoiling. Does anyone know a place where one can purchase said horse bone? I've checked sausage/ham forums and they all talk about it but no one seems to know where to get one.

I've always just used a metal skewer on my hams. I can see the reasoning behind the bone, as it's porous and would likely pick up more scent, but I've gotten a solid 'cured' odor off of a metal skewer. Never had any hams go south, but imagine the rot would be just as apparent if not much more so. Hope this helps.

I've always just used a metal skewer on my hams. I can see the reasoning behind the bone, as it's porous and would likely pick up more scent, but I've gotten a solid 'cured' odor off of a metal skewer. Never had any hams go south, but imagine the rot would be just as apparent if not much more so. Hope this helps.

I think they used horse bones more out of tradition, than anything, this goes back to the time of the Romans. copper, bronze or iron would give off a distinct metallic smell when pulled out and may also react with the salt in the cure. since, stainless steel didn't exist then and they ate a lot of horses why not keep the tradition alive, besides the bones were a free by product of the time. In the south I have seen them use Raccoon baculums (penile bones) to test hams, so the tradition lives on. You are going to have great difficulty finding Horse splint bones for sale here in the states. people don't want us killing horses for food here.

I haven't lived the life I wanted, just the lives I needed too at the time.